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voids-colourful-creations · 5 days

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Take it With You -- A Pearlina Fic

[Read on Ao3!]

Rated: T Relationships: Pearl/Marina Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion Content Warnings: Standard Octarian Propaganda stuff, Knives in kitchen context. Words: 3.8k

Summary: Even after all the time she's spent up here, there's still more than a few things Marina finds strange about Inklings. Even when she thinks she understands everything, Pearl finds a way to flip her world upside down. (Now that Pearl knows everything Marina's been hiding, maybe that's fitting.)

Inklings were… strange, in their pride. It was one of the things Marina found herself endeared by from the start.  When she’d been in training, when she’d been working, designing— it was all in service of the Greater Goal. The work had been glorious, their task virtuous… but the technicians? Their value was defined by what they could produce, for the sake of their future.  

Inklings weren’t like that, and Marina was enthralled. Oh, they were vain and selfish, she had known that from the start. Octolings were everything Inklings weren’t, Marina had heard growing up.

“There’s no in-between. You are one of us, a righteous Octoling soldier, and they are Inklings.”

Even the name itself was an insult, when spoken in the right mouth.

“Where they are lazy, we are diligent. Where they are scattered, unorganised and listless, we are driven, unified.”

Yes, yes, just as she’d been told.

But with laziness came freedom and relaxation. A lack of unity could just as easily been seen as a beautiful cocktail of different ideas and expressions.

Startlingly, Inklings were self assured. That, Marina hadn’t been prepared for. Inklings were bold and brash and bright. Inklings could be wrong , all the time, without a care in the world. They’d laugh and joke, no regard to their errors beyond a minor correction, if any. It took a while for it to sink in for Marina, but to be wrong was no failure, no stain on an Inklings pride. Shame instead, came in different ways. One’s appearance was important, as was skill in turf, general “vibes” so to speak. But mainly, an Inklings pride came in the same thing that drew Marina to them in the first place.

It was so starkly different to what she’d been accustomed to. A pride you chose for yourself? Unthinkable.

“You must wear everything you do with pride, ours is a noble cause, our work as a collective.”

The flooders weren’t Marina’s to be proud of, so much as her teams. Not that she was all too proud of those things nowadays…

 To do whatever you want, whenever you want. There would be no one to answer to, and nothing to hide. Was that what it meant to be an Inkling? Everything about yourself was to be flaunted, everything you do something to be proud of, or at minimum entertained by.  Inklings simply… did as they wanted.  

Pearl shone so brightly in that regard. She never apologised. She never backed down from her desires, from displaying herself in the most vivid manner possible. Pearl was always doing whatever she wanted, how she wanted, when she wanted.  It was strange how Marina found she didn’t mind it, mainly.  Inklings were selfish, yes, but Pearl was selfish in a way Marina couldn’t help but admire. And Pearl, her Pearl? Her selfishness was pure in the end. How could anyone fault her for living as she pleased? Even otherwise, it would be hypocritical to say a thing. At least, in Marina’s eye.

Wasn’t it her selfishness that pushed her here? The call for more, for the sun on her face and a thousand new colours she’d never seen before?

That same selfishness caused her to be ever enthralled by Pearl’s own.  All’s to say, Marina had seen Pearl apologise maybe twice in the three years she’d known her. Always a casual, though sincere thing, quick and easy and done.

That’s all there was to it… but .

Now, Pearl knelt at Marina’s feet. Head down, voice muffled, the only words she spoke were simple.

“I’m sorry.”

At that moment, the first thought that struck Marina hit her straight through the chest.

“Oh. She really means it.”

Quickly followed, naturally, by Marina’s own flustering reply.

“W-what for? Pearlie, stand up, it’s– what are you saying? Come inside at least!”

Tentacles brushing against the door frame, Pearl looked up to meet Marina’s eyes. Despite this, her posture remained the same, body pressed against the floor.

The edges of sunrise settled on her back, lighting her up in rosy hue. Had it really been that long? A full day then, since Eight had surfaced– 24 hours. Marina could’ve sworn it hadn’t been that late she’d been working, but the night was quickly slipping away from her grasp.

Pearl didn’t say anything, biting the edge of her lip. Slowly, she brought herself up to standing, though wavering still in the doorway.

Despite her height, Pearl’s figure shielded Marina from what little sun shone in. A soft ring of light surrounded her, blurry at the edges.

“You sure?” Pearl asked, tentative.

Marina opened the door wider, as far as it would go.

“Come in, let’s... let’s talk over breakfast.”

***

The kettle hissed and whined on the counter, but Pearl remained silent, perched up on the bar stool at Marina’s kitchen island. Marina busied herself, fretting around this way and that. A fruit might’ve been good, if she had any left that weren’t starting to rot. Maybe some muffins were left over? No, all gone…

The past few days had been a whirlwind, As Eight grew closer and closer to the surface, Marina’s time became more and more consumed by her rescue.

Now, she could breathe easy knowing Eight was breathing fresh air. That she’d made it safely, fully and completely free. With their dedication, all of theirs, Eight was safe. Inkopolis was safe.

...But Marina’s kitchen hadn’t been quite as lucky.

Tip-toeing around the counters, Marina swept up crumbs and shuffled about cutlery, trying to make things look ever so slightly more presentable. It helped very little, but at least Pearl would see her making an effort? The last thing she wanted was to look lazy in front of her...

Pulling open the fridge, she fished out the last two apples, and set them on the island behind her. She shut the door with her body, leaning against it as she moved towards the drawers. From the top, she retrieved two knives, serrated. From the second, a large wooden cutting board, heavily marred with jagged lines.

These followed the apples, gently set down beside them.

Dragging over another stool, Marina sat herself across from Pearl, pulling the basket of oranges set on the table's edge between them.

“Alright.” She said, taking a deep breath, “How about you take the oranges, and I’ll cut up the apples?”

Pearl nodded, quiet, and took an orange from the basket, alongside one of the knives.

Content, Marina took the remaining knife, and placed her apple down on the cutting board.

“So...” Marina began, carefully cutting her apple exactly in two, “What’s wrong?”

Pearl seemed startled for a moment, tearing her eyes away from the orange and over to Marina.

“What?”

“...Inklings don’t usually come apologising on hand and knee at daybreak because things are going peachy,” Marina said, ‘and you don’t usually come apologising at all.’ She thought, but kept the rest of it to herself.

From the way Pearl shifted in her seat, Marina almost wondered if she’d heard it anyway.

“I... it was just– Earlier, there was more important shit goin’ on. With Eight, and all the helicopters and... you get it.”

Marina nodded quietly. Methodically, she began to slice her apple halves into thirds, a total 6 pieces.

“But I wasn’t gonna just... Worm my way outta apologisin’!” Pearl’s thumb dug into the slit in the orange she’d created, tearing open a seam.

“For what?” Marina asked, voice faint.

Pearl made a quiet noise, neither a groan nor a breath. Just something… caught. By now, a sense of dread had begun pooling in the back of Marina's throat. She could tell where this was going, but she was still hoping she might be wrong. If she played dumb, then luck might favour her. She could delay this a little longer.

“For chattin’ ‘bout you with Cap while ya weren’t there.”

Just a little longer... even a few more moments.

“And lookin’ through that file,”

Even if she’s only lying to herself, only pretending things could stay the same...

“Digging into all your past junk. Everythin’ you didn’t wanna tell me ‘bout.”

Please, don’t say any more. Don’t say it.

“Finding out you’re an Octoling. And that you used to be in the military, I guess? And all of it. I really am sorry, Marina.”

Ahh...

Now she’d done it. The facts spilled out and sticky, laying on the table between the apples and the oranges.

No more going back.

“You’re sorry?” Marina asked quietly. She pulled an apple slice forward, singling it out from the rest. Cupping it in her palm, she began to score the surface of the skin.

“Hell you take me for?! ‘Course I am! I’d already made up my mind I wasn’t gunna go digging into ya shit if you weren’t gonna tell me yourself, then I find out all this stuff anyway. I shoulda kept my mouth shut or sumthin’.”

Marina shook her head, tentacles bouncing lightly.

“No, no, that’s-- I can’t blame you for that. You weren’t digging into anything, it all just kind of... happened.”

Pearl rolled her eyes.

“Sure, I guess. Feels like ya cutting me way too much slack.”

Chunks of orange peel began to pile up on the counter, Pearl’s peeling the furthest thing from even.

“I couldn’t… It wouldn’t be fair to blame you for that. Not for just… reading the information you were given. I- you don’t have to worry about it.” Marina’s voice had grown to a whisper, somewhere along the way.

“I wasn’t worried ‘bout that!” Pearl bit back, a frustration audibly growing in her throat as she half rose out of her seat. Calming herself just as quick, she sat back down, “Gaah, you’re so off. You’re too nice, ‘Rina… It wasn’t that. I just…”

Pearl sighed, dropping her partially peeled orange onto the counter. She leaned over the table, propping herself up by the elbows and leaning her head in her hands. Staring towards the marble countertop, puddles of orange juice reflected her expression.

“You were so skittish when we met. Can’t tell if ya remember that. Back when you were new here, new to the fucking– surface, I guess. Cod… You were so eager to learn about all my shit, everything about Inkopolis and Inklish and whatever junk. But whenever I asked you about your stuff, your town or family or whatever…”

Pearl’s palms shifted forward, covering her face as she finished speaking.

“Your expression… it broke all my hearts, I guess. Like, a little sad and sorta scared? I hated it every time. I never wanted to make you feel like that, so I just– stopped asking. Was never my business anyway.”

Pearl took a deep breath, pulling her hands back to reveal her face once more. She looked over towards Marina, seeking her eyes. Marina remained focused on the apple slices in her palms.

“I meant what I said an’ all.” Pearl continued, “Back in the chat with Cuttlefish, but like… when we met, too. I don’t care where you’re from or what you’ve done. But still, I’m sorry. For finding everything out that you didn’t want me to know.”

Marina cradled an apple slice in one palm, carefully running the knife up under its skin.

“It— it’s not like I didn’t want you to know, exactly… It’s just…”

She trailed off again. The feeling infuriated her even as the words remained caught on the tip of her tongue.

“’S’cool.” Pearl mumbled, “I get it an’ all. It’s my bad anyway, even if I don’t know what I did exactly. Just… I’m sorry— ”

The strain of the past few days was audible, Pearl’s voice unable to withstand the weight of her words.

“I’m sorry you didn’t think you could trust me with this.”

With that, finally, Pearl was entirely silent, satisfied.

The orange lay long forgotten on the table.

“I trust you!” Marina pleaded, her voice cracking ever slightly, “Pearlie, I promise I do.”

Her fruit was quickly abandoned, callously dropped from her hand as Marina reached across the table. Towards Pearl’s hands, towards Pearl .

“You don’t have to!” Pearl replied, but it sounded less confident than she had hoped.

“You don’t have to,” She repeated. “I just… never wanted to make you feel like you couldn’t— ”

“Pearl! ”

Marina snatched up Pearl’s hands, yanking them close. Pearl jolted forward, nearly bumping heads with Marina over the table.

“I never thought I couldn’t trust you. It isn’t your fault. It’s all mine.”

Pearl only looked at her, face unreadable.

Marina squeezed Pearl’s hands for a moment.

“At first, I just didn’t know how to say it. Forget the right way to explain, I could barely string an Inklish sentence together properly! But after that, I started to… I started putting things off. I was never scared of what you would say, Pearlie… I was scared– I.”

Marina grit her teeth, looking away from Pearl’s face and downwards. Staring at the discarded fruits on the table, she whispered,

“I guess I was scared of me.”

She didn’t look up at Pearl, but she felt her grasp tightening, a deep tug at her. Pearl remained silent, as Marina began to speak again.

“Seeing everything up here, being up here, with you and the light and everyone. It felt so fresh. Inklings invent themselves again and again, everyday! We— I never thought I had that, I guess. It felt like a dream, becoming someone entirely new. Someone loved for her music , someone who spent every day in the sunlight, someone who was partners with someone like you…”

Marina teared her eyes away from the table, and back towards Pearls. If Pearl saw the tears edging Marina’s eyes, she didn’t say anything.

“If I told you everything, I’d break what I built here. I’d have to admit everything I was, everything I did. A-And not just that… I didn’t want you to pity me. I didn’t know if Inkopolis would still like me, if I would even be safe…”

Marina’s breath hitched for a moment, but her words just kept tumbling out of her mouth without her even thinking.

“Once you leave, you can’t ever go back. I betrayed everyone by leaving, my friends, my family, all of them. And the worst part is I would do it again, without a second thought. But even if I knew you would stand by me, no matter what… I just didn’t know if I could, too. I’m sorry, Pearl.”

Marina heard her hearts pounding in her ears louder than anything else, all her words coming out in a rush. Everything she’d been afraid of saying aloud, of even thinking about for so long; everything all unravelled before the sun had even fully risen.

She took a breath, focusing on the feeling. Absentmindedly, her fingers stroked Pearls, still held in her grasp. Pointed tips skimmed against blunt edges.

“Cod, ‘Rina… how long have you been holdin’ onto that? Well, actually never mind, I get it. Just...”

Pearl’s fingers ran along Marina’s, repeating her motions back to her.

“You know I’ll accept ya, no matter what. But that’s not ‘cuz like, I think you’re some perfect angel, or something. Where ya came from, what you’ve done, that shit matters , yeah? But like, it matters cause it’s part of you. And I love you. So it’s… fuck, I’m not good at this kinda thing.”

Pearl bit her lip, pulling Marina in closer.

“It’s just you at the end of the day. I like the you in front of me the best outta all of them. I like that you’re a perfectionist, even if I also kinda hate it sometimes. I wanna know shit about ya, cause it’s you. But you’re still fucking you , even if you’ve done a bunch of stuff, or been through a bunch of stuff. Probably both. You’re still my ‘Rina, who has awful taste in movies and drools when she sleeps, even if you were ‘Combat Engineer Iida’ before.”

Marina leaned in further, closing the gap and pressing her head against Pearl’s, eyes closed.

“And I’m glad you’re here. I don’t care if it’s selfish, I want you up here with me , making music and goofing off. If your family and friends are anywhere near as nice as you, I bet they’re glad for ya. That you’re up here, doing what ya want and being happy. …I mean I think you’re happy? I hope so.”

Pearl sighed, and Marina could feel the air brushing against her face.

“If you don’t think you can forgive yourself, you don’t haveta. I’ll always love ya enough for us both. I think Lil’ ‘Rina deserves to catch a break though, so maybe give her that. If it wasn’t for her, I mean, I never would’ve gotten to meet the you I have today. And you today is fucking awesome, so she must’ve done something right.”

And that was what ended up breaking Marina, so when the tears began to streak down her face she was so close against Pearl’s that they ran down hers too.

“Aw ‘Rina,” Pearl murmured, “That can’t be the thing I say that makes you cry, that’s gotta be one of the lamest compliments I’ve ever given you…”

Marina laughed, still slightly starved for air, still crying. She pulled back, leaning away from the table.

Pearl mirrored her, a soft smile on her face.

Without words, she opened her arms up, inviting Marina closer.

Stumbling slightly as she slid off her stool, Marina tiptoed around the island. Gently, she walked into Pearl’s awaiting arms, still standing as Pearl perched on the seat. As Marina made contact, Pearl’s arms pulled her in close and tight.

Marina rested her head on Pearl’s shoulder, and Pearl tilted her head against Marina’s.

“Thank you,” Pearl whispered in Marina’s ear, “For telling me that. You never have to but— thank you.”

Marina squeezed her tighter.

“Oh, Pearlie… I really never wanted to hide it all from you. But I wouldn’t trade being up here, being with you— not for anything. And if being on the surface means letting go of my history, I was more than ready… if I can only have one, I chose you.”

Pearl scoffed, warm breath against Marina’s back.

“Well that’s stupid, who told you ya had to do that? ”

Marina suddenly froze.

Who had told her that? Who had gotten it so ingrained in her mind, created this inalienable truth?

It had been just another part of growing up, hadn’t it? A fact as true as the cruelty of Inklings, the unobtainable sun.

But a stream of sunlight glittered through Marina’s window just to get in her eyes. Pearl's grip around her was warm and comforting.

It wasn’t true, was it?

“No one, I guess. Or everyone. Inklings and Octolings are just… too different… they don’t mix. You were either a noble Octarian working for the cause or… or…”

And she’d known it, all along she’d known, but never before had she really said it aloud. Let herself believe it.

“Or you were against them. A traitor.”

The words she’d been afraid of didn’t sound scary anymore. Even as she spoke them, Marina didn’t find herself believing them.

Pearl laughed, sharp and biting.

“The biggest thing you could do to betray them would be to go against that black-n-white style in the first place. We got a whole rainbow of colours to work with!”

And Marina knew it, because she'd truly seen light for the first time when she’d come here. But Pearl had been the first person to really show her a rainbow.

Overcome with emotion, Marina lifted Pearl right into the air, still clinging onto her tightly.

“Whoa– ‘Rina!”

On instinct, Pearl clung tighter, wrapping her legs around Marina’s waist. In tandem, the tentacles on Marina’s head enveloped around Pearl, winding around to support her back.

“You are nothing like they said you would be,” Marina said, smiling down at Pearl.

“Hard to capture this much greatness in words, I know,” Pearl smiled back.

A beat. Only the call of birds in the distance as the sun crept further into view. The rhythm of heartbeats, 6 all in unison.

“We alright?” Pearl asked.

“We’re all right. We’re wonderful.” Marina replied.

Pearl sighed heavily in relief.

“Well thank Cod for that. Don’t know what I woulda done if I’d really hurt ya like that.”

Marina’s smile shifted to a smirk.

“Mm~? Cried maybe?”

Pearl blushed ever slightly, ink crowding her face before she could hide it. She tore her gaze from Marina’s.

“Nu-uh! Don’t say that, you’ll ruin my image.”

Marina spun around in place, twirling Pearl along with her.

“Hmm~?” Marina said, bouncing on her heels, “I think you’ve already done quite a bit of that yourself, no? I mean, apologising to me on hand and knee right at sunrise?”

Pearl shrugged.

“That’s the way Octolings do it, ain’t it? Or did Cap steer me wrong?”

Marina leaned forward, kissing Pearl on the forehead.

“Exactly how we do it.”

Pearl tilted her head up, pecking Marina on the cheek as she pulled back from her own kiss.

“You know me, always acin’ it first try.”

Marina’s tentacles wrapped around Pearl tighter, bringing her in ever closer.

“Wanna put that to the test? Now that everything’s out in the open, there’s a million things I’ve got to share with you~”

“Mm, looking forward to it. But uh… first… Much as I hate to say it,” Pearl glanced over towards the island.

Long since abandoned orange pieces lay atop one another in a pile, alongside half carved apple sea-bunnies. Apple and orange blended together into a sizable lake of juice on Marina’s kitchen island.

“Should we finish up all… that?”

Marina took in the mess on the counter, surveying it alongside the general disarray of her kitchen.

Dust particles sparkled slightly as they drifted through the air, gliding through a beam of light coming in through the kitchen window. Pearl shifted slightly, holding onto Marina tightly with seemingly no intent of leaving her arms soon.

“Let’s leave it. I’m sure Eight would appreciate some company for their first proper breakfast on the surface. We can introduce them to waffles.”

Pearl sighed contently, “Sounds good to me. But let’s be real, Eight definitely gonna be a pancake kind of gal.”

“Ha! You wish. We’ll just have to get both and let her choose.”

“Should we throw some toast in there to be safe?”

“Let’s give ‘em a full buffet! Bring Cap and Three along too, it’ll be fun.”

Words exchanged and punctuated with laughter echoed in the apartment as Marina and Pearl headed out the door, Pearl still clinging onto Marina just for the hell of it. A vibrant selection of colour danced across the early morning sky as they proceeded out, a dozen hues of pinks, purples and oranges. Ebbing and flowing, no colour stayed quite the same for long, all mixing and merging before streaking out in distinct colours. Climbing ever higher, the sun cast brightly upon a new morning in Inkopolis.

As Marina and Pearl headed out to greet it they left discarded fruit and cutlery in their wake, alongside a singular, merged shadow.

[End]

#voids fic #splatoon #pearlina #pearl houzuki #marina ida #marina iida #off the hook #octo expansion #splatoon 2 #splatoon fic #splatoon fanfiction

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cuppacoffii · 4 months

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if it looks like they’re wearing the wrong shirts, i assure you they aren’t

read their story here!

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octo-artist · 2 months

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Calm before the Inkstorm

Pre-war yan! Octavio x reader x platonic pre-war yan! Craig

Chapter 1: Sunny days…

TW: Possessive relationships, toxic mentalities,slight abuse of power, Typical Yandere shenanigans on both sides

I do not condone any of the actions in this series! If you are in a relationship like this please seek out help!

Certain parts are heavily inspired by Dissonant melodies by DriftingNova

Y/N=your name

T/C=tentacle color

E/C=eye color

Masterlist Next chapter

------------------------------------------------------

Where did everything go so wrong… Why did things turn out this way… This war should never have happened, how many signs did I ignore to reach this point…

~Four years prior~

The day was a sunny one, hardly any clouds in the sky, in a castle overlooking a quaint seaside village two figures converse in the garden, an Octarian prince and an inkling gardener. The prince, Octavio, is seated on a platform beneath the tree, his octobrush leaned up to the platform and an instrument laid out in front of him, the inkling meandering about tending to the various flora around the yard. Octavio watches them with a bored expression leaning his dead against one of his fists, it does not take long for the boredom to win him over.

“y/n, come sit with me I know you’ve already finished your duties for the day so why not take a break?”, the prince calls out from his seat, patting the space next to him with his free hand.

“Your highness that would be improper of me to do, i’m just a gardener after all not a noble”, Y/n replies, a small tinge of amusement in their voice hearing the young prince groan in exasperation.

“As if, don’t make me have to order you to take a break.”, he argued back, a bit annoyed at the Inkling’s refusal to sit with him.

“Prince Octavio with all due respect I need to finish pruning these flowers, if I don't remove the withered buds the plant won’t redirect that energy to the healthy ones.” Y/n calmly explained.

They continued their work not hearing the prince stand up and begin to walk up to them until he wrapped his arms around their waist and lifted them up and carried them over to the platform despite their protests.

“Your highness put me down! We could be seen! What would your advisors think if they saw this?!”, y/n scolded the young man who merely laughed in response.

“Ah let them! They can’t say shit to me, I’m the crown heir so they have to listen to me!”, Octavio laughed as he sat back down, not releasing the inking, setting them in his lap, “besides you’ve been working all morning and haven’t stopped once to take a break, so now i’m making ya take one. Been working on more music and I want you to hear it.”

“And you couldn’t play it while I was working?”, y/n questioned not believing that to be his only motive.

“Nope, you’re gonna stay right here and listen”, the cheeky grin could practically be heard as he let go and let y/n move to the spot next to him before beginning to play, a beautiful tune filling the space with a calming atmosphere. Closing their eyes y/n lightly swayed listening to the prince play. Their bond was a mystery to those who saw them, but it was clear to many they were close, both having grown up together despite their very different lifestyles.

The peaceful atmosphere was quickly interrupted when an unknown voice speaks up from behind the duo, “Wow you play really good!”

In response Octavio whirls around grabbing his weapon and pointing it at the intruder, an inkling male with white tentacles and gold eyes, he’s fairly scrawny wearing travelers gear. “Back off! What do you want?! Are you a burglar? An assassin?”Octavio demanded, positioning himself between the stranger and y/n.

Stuttering the inkling replies, “a-an assassin? N-No I’m a… I’m a fan of your music?”

Lowering the brush slightly the confused prince looks at the inkling saying, ”My what?”

Recomposing himself, the inkling smiles and explains, “I heard a heavenly melody in the wind, so I followed your song to this courtyard! You have some real talent!”

“But how did you get security clearance?”,Octavio asks, relaxing a bit but staying on guard a bit, keeping his position between the two.

Holding up a peace sign with a confident smile the inkling states, “Oh, I just snuck in!”

Both look at him deadpanned before Octavio calls for the guards to throw the intruder out. Unfortunately dropping a notebook in the process which the prince picks up curiously when the courtyard quiets once more.

“Oh no, poor guy must've dropped it when he was being dragged out. Maybe I should bring it to the front doors to retu-”, Y/n starts but is interrupted not long after.

“No i’m sure he’ll be back for it, kinda curious what's in it.” Octavio says, still looking at the journal.

“That feels like an invasion of privacy, your highness”, Y/n says concerned.

“The guy jumped the wall just to tell us he was a fan of my music, I think that warrants reading it to know exactly how he got in”, Octavio says back, not swayed by their concern, opening the book to take a look inside.

“I’m just going to get back to work… I don’t feel comfortable looking through some poor soul’s personal property”, Y/n states, picking the pruning shears back up to continue pruning the plants around the courtyard.

“You’re too nice y/n, you gotta know when to make the tough calls for the safety of yourself and others”, Octavio states not looking up from the page he’d landed on. Y/n doesn’t reply to his comment, focusing on their work. Naturally as the prince had predicted, the inkling came back for his journal, jumping the wall like the day before. Octavio waited with his arms crossed, a deadpan look on his face as the other male climbed down the wall, “So being tossed out once wasn’t enough to teach you a lesson?” The inkling spooked by Octavio’s statement pleads with him, “I know I know i’m sorry! But I lost my journal and I was hoping-” Not letting the inkling finish Octavio tossed the journal at him, it landing square in the poor guy’s face.

”Here, I wrote a couple of verses. Some parts could use some more work, but all in all your lyrics ain't half bad.” Octavio responded.

“You…” the inkling began, “You like my songs?”, his eyes now twinkling.

“I think they’re acceptable. Craig. Don't get too full of yourself.” Octavio replied a bit annoyed.

Reeling back in shock Craig stammers “H-HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!”

“IT’S WRITTEN ON THE COVER YOU AIRHEAD!” Octavio yells back. From the door to the castle a laugh can be heard, the duo turning to see that y/n had arrived just at the tail of the conversation. This distracts the two long enough to calm down a bit before continuing as y/n walks over to join them.

“I-I see! Well Craig’s fine and all but I prefer to be addressed as cap’n”, Craig says, a sweat drop falling from the embarrassment of forgetting he’d written his name on his journal. “What are you the captain of..?”

“Captain of fresh rhymes!” Craig states striking a pose making y/n chuckle at the silly antics of the man. Octavio gets a slight frown before eventually cracking up at Craig’s antics as well.

“Alright then if THIS is what we’re doin’… I guess that makes me the Sovereign of Spicy Beats! You can call me Prince Octavio” holding his hand out for Craig to shake, which Crain initially goes to grab saying with a smile “It’s always a pleasure to meet a fellow music lover! I…” he freezes mid sentence pulling away a bit like he’d just thought of something confusing both y/n and Octavio.

“I, ah…”, Craig stammers lost in thought, “hmmm”

“Hellooo, what are you-“, Octavio starts before being startled by Craig grabbing Octavio’s hand in both of his hands with a grin before exclaiming, “Let’s start a band!” To the surprised Octavio who looks to y/n in confusion. “I mean it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try tav, it might be fun!”, y/n says trying to assure Octavio, Craig taking note of the nickname before asking, “are you two a-“ to which both end up growing flustered before Octavio pulls Craig close to whisper sternly, “you are not to tell a soul ok? They’d lose their job if we got discovered by the council, got it?”

“Crystal clear, secret is safe with me!” Craig states making a zipping motion over his lips.

“Good, then I accept the proposition. I don’t have anything better to do and it can get pretty boring around here.” Octavio says releasing Craig who’s now once again grinning.

“Oh this is gonna be great!”, he exclaims, excited to have a new friend and band mate.

#splatoon 2 #splatoon #splatoon 3 #yandere dj octavio x reader #yandere dj octavio #dj octavio x reader #dj octavio #craig cuttlefish #Craig splatoon #captain Craig cuttlefish #dissonant melody #yandere splatoon #yandere splatoon x reader #splatoon x reader #calm before the inkstorm #splatoon octoling #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon inkling #splatoon fic

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fisheyezzz · 4 months

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oh okay please beware this is not very . very. normal

#splatoon fanfiction #splatoon fic #3; q #4; max

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smolljester · 20 days

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pov: Callie in that one chapter

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #fanfic #fanfiction #splatoon fanfiction #splatoon callie #callie cuttlefish #callie splatoon #iykyk #welcome back to jester's random thoughts

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ikatako38 · 10 days

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Squidmas Special ‘23

Rating: G, Word Count: 4,863

This special was originally posted on AO3 in two parts between Chapter #22 - 1 and Chapter #22 - 2. It takes place 8 years after the end of TPWCH. Ryland, Three, and Captain are all the same person! I also made this relationship chart to help since there’s so many characters being introduced so quickly. And yeah, Koi’s birthday is on Squidmas, so they’re celebrating both events together. The story starts below the cut!

“You’re sure it’ll be okay? It’s just… there’s gonna be so many people…”

“Yes, Capa. It’s gonna be okay. We have to let Tsuku spread her wings. She has to be able to take risks in order to live her life. We took plenty of them.”

“I know, I know…”

“And, hey. If anything goes wrong, we’ll both be there to protect her.”

The Inkling took their husband’s hands playfully. “I think that would just be you.”

“You’re telling me the Captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon wouldn’t be able to hold off a couple of fourteen-year-olds? Because I know they could.” Eight bopped the white puff on the end of Captain’s Squidmas hat.

“I get nervous around little kids! I don’t know what to do or say! You know this.”

“Is that what it is? You’re nervous the kids won’t like you?”

“I mean…” Captain shrugged. They hadn’t been consciously thinking about that, but now that Eight mentioned it, maybe that was part of their hesitation.

“It’s all right to feel nervous… but kids always love you! Remember that one at Tako Bell who—”

“Yeah, yeah I know. I’m probably worrying for no reason.”

“Such is life.”

“And… what about the other parents? They’re probably all cishet Inklings, and we’re so much younger than everyone else…”

“If anything goes wrong, we can leave, okay? Or you can leave and I can stay… or whatever works in the moment.”

Captain nodded, and after a moment he raised his head to kiss Eight. “Okay, now where’s Tsuku?”

Captain made their way to their daughter’s bedroom door. “Hey Tsuku, it’s about time to go!”

“Ah, sorry, sorry… just five more minutes!”

“Okay koko, just come out to the living room when you’re ready!”

Returning to the living room, Captain saw Eight waiting, now with his shoes on.

“Tsuku’s still going to be about ten minutes,” Captain explained.

Eight checked his phone. “We’re going to be late…”

“That’s okay.”

“Yeah. Yeah it is.”

Captain ended up opening one of the dumb word games on their phone, and Eight did his best to help, until Tsuku appeared in the hallway. She was wearing a cute little red dress with white flats. Captain bent down closer to her and gushed, “Myushi-myushi ba~!

“Oh my cod, Fufu.”

Captain kissed the top of Tsuku’s head. “C’mon, let’s go!”

It was only a short train ride, and then they were standing at the front door of Koi’s family’s house.

“Um… do we knock…?” Eight murmured.

They looked at each other, and Captain shrugged. Then they both jumped back when Tsuku stepped up between them and gave the door a confident rap. Koi opened the door a few seconds later, and her orange pigtails flopped over Tsuku’s shoulders as they hugged tightly. Captain and Eight threw each other an awkward glance as they waited in the blocked doorway, and the two young Cephalings didn’t separate until another voice from inside the house called out, “Tsuku! You made it!”

The Inkling who had just started going by KJ ran up to them and hugged Tsuku too, although—both Captain

and Eight noticed—this one was much shorter.

Meanwhile, Koi stood on her toes and said, “Hello, Mr…. um… and… uh… sorry, are you… Tsuku’s parents?”

“Yep,” Eight said. “You can just call us us Eight and Captain… or Tsuku’s dad and parent, if that’s easier. The last names are sort of complicated.”

“Oh, okay! Welcome to our home… sorry again.”

“It’s totally okay! No harm done.”

As they entered, following behind the girls and KJ, Captain made a whining sound and whispered to Eight, “That was so awkward…”

Eight gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. “I know it’s hard. You’re doing great.” Eight also slipped his hand into Captain’s for support.

A few seconds later, they arrived in the kitchen, where René was at the dining table trying to explain the rules of chess to Cody, seemingly rather unsuccessfully. Beyond that was the living room, where eight adults sat on several sofas and armchairs arranged in a U-shape around a low coffee table, conversing in groups of two or three. A Squidmas tree in the corner glistened with ornaments and tinsel.

When René and Cody saw them, they both got up and raced toward them. Cody got there first and gave Tsuku a quick hug before rattling off a long stream of almost unintelligible words while bouncing on his heels excitedly. Then René hugged her too, but, unless Captain was mistaken, it seemed a bit more awkward than the others had been.

“Hi boys, nice to meet you. I’m Eight, Tsuku’s dad.” Eight shook each of their hands.

Captain just kind of smiled at them.

Thankfully, Cody interrupted: “René was just showing me this game called chest!”

“Chess,” René corrected.

“And there’s all these little figurine things that are so cool, my favorite is the little horse!”

“Knight.”

“And to win the game you have to trap the other player’s king, and it's called a checkmake!”

“Checkmate.”

“C’mon, René can show us how to play, he’s so good at explaining things!”

Tsuku, Koi, and KJ looked at each other, shrugged, and then started to gather around the table.

Eight squeezed Captain’s hand. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be…”

They hadn’t stepped two paces into the living room when a woman with long orange tentacles jumped up from a sofa to face them. “Oh, welcome! You must be Tsuku’s parents, then? Eight and Captain, right? Here, take our seats!” She started tugging at the arm of the man next to her until he stood.

“Oh, no, it’s okay!” Eight tried.

“No, I insist. Have a seat.”

So Captain and Eight scooted in next to a pale woman with frizzy purple tentacles, just like her son.

“You must be Cody’s mother?” Eight said.

“Yep. Alicia. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” said Eight.

“And you’re Tsuku’s parents?”

“Right. We—”

“Oh, of course!” Koi’s mother interrupted, now sitting on the floor with her legs folded. Her voice was so strong that the other conversations quickly fizzled out. “Everyone, these are Tsuku’s parents, Eight and Captain. Eight and Captain, you’ve just met Alicia.” She pointed to a Black family with green tentacles sitting together on the sofa against the left wall. The husband and wife seemed to be the oldest out of everyone there, while the third person was the youngest. “These are Atlas and Jeane, René’s parents. And Atlas’s son Alex, just next to them.” Now she gestured toward the couch on the right, where another couple sat, this one with magenta tentacles. “And KJ’s parents, Vanessa and Robert. Have I missed anyone? Oh, of course! I’m Koi’s mother, Amanda, and this is my husband Glen.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Eight said.

“Nice to meet you,” Captain managed to squeak out, adding a little wave.

“You know, you both look so young for your age,” Amanda continued. “I’m so jealous!”

“Actually, I’m only 26…” Captain explained.

“Oh!” Captain could see the gears turning in Amanda’s head, trying to do the math.

“Um… we adopted her when she was six. I was only eighteen, so it was a hard decision, but she didn’t have a home, and we were the only ones who could take her in. I’ve always been… something between a sibling and a parent to her.”

“I see. Well, from what I hear from Koi, you’re doing a great job.”

Captain thought of several things to say, but he couldn’t get his mouth to form the words.

“Oh… have I said something?”

“Sorry, sorry! That just… means a lot, is all. Thank you.”

Amanda directed her next question at Eight, which Captain was grateful for. “So how long have you two been together?”

Eight looked at Captain with such a reminiscent, loving expression that it nearly made Captain blush in front of everyone. “We met each other eight years ago in July, and we started dating in November. We got married three years later, and we just had our fifth anniversary in August.”

Captain was frozen the whole time, staring down at a certain spot on the carpet. But when Eight shifted and leaned into him slightly, it broke the trance, and Captain looked up at him. They shared a smile.

“Remember our fifth anniversary, hun?” said Vanessa. “That feels so long ago.”

“Well, we are getting dangerously close to our twentieth, aren’t we?” Robert said back with a chuckle.

“At least you’re not staring down your fiftieth birthday,” Atlas remarked, with such an even tone Captain wouldn’t have known what to make of it if the smile hadn’t given it away.

“Fifty? No~!” Glen said with incredulity.

“Only two months left. I might as well start digging my grave now.”

“Oh my cod, dad…” the son, Alex, groaned.

“Oh, like you’ve never been dramatic about your age. I’m 14, I’m basically an adult,” Atlas mocked, using a deeper voice.

Alex rolled his eyes and went back to scrolling on his phone, but just after the conversation picked up again and everyone else had turned their attention elsewhere, Captain noticed that Altas nudged his son, and they both shared a smirk that somehow seemed to convey a strikingly strong bond of love between them.

Captain snapped to attention when they heard their name; it was coming from Amanda again: “Thank you again for coming, Captain, Eight. I’m sure Koi will love having Tsuku here. And it’s so nice to finally meet you both! And the same to you too, of course, Atlas and Jeane.”

A knock came from the front door. Captain whipped their head around toward it and made a confused face. They were sure that their family had arrived last, and everyone who they had expected to to come was already there. So who could this be at the door? Perhaps a pizza delivery or something?

They all already knew that the kids would beat any adult to the door, so they just waited, and Captain watched the archway to the kitchen anxiously, until finally someone stepped through—

“Lyle? What…” Captain couldn’t stop the exclamation before it was already out of their mouth.

“Heya, Captain. And everyone,” Lyle said with a smug grin. Eli stepped into view a moment later, holding his husband’s hand, and with his other hand he towed little Tempest behind him.

“Hi Amanda, thank you for having us!” Eli said.

“Also, um… Tempest’s bio moms wanted to come too at the last second, I hope it’s all right that we brought them along.”

And now the Meer-Hannon family stepped forward to reveal Agents Four and Neo Three—but they really should be calling them Aubrey and Yuki in a context like this. Each one was holding an infant with yellow ink.

Amanda jumped up from her seat again to greet them. “Oh, of course! Thank you so much for coming, I’m sure Betta will be delighted to see Tempest. She’s outside with Ava and Kate.”

“Do you wanna go outside?” Eli asked Tempest.

Tempest looked toward the sliding-glass door but shrunk back away from it, into Eli’s body. “You don’t have to,” he soothed. “You can stay in here if you want.”

Then Koi’s younger sister Betta poked her head in from outside. “Tempest?”

“Betta!” And any apprehension disappeared.

Captain jumped when Alicia called out from right next to him, “Kate? Is everyone doing okay out there?”

Now the older Larsen’s face appeared in the door. “Yep, all good, mom! Betta bit Aaron’s finger, but he’ll survive!”

“Aaron, are you sure you’re okay?” Alicia called back.

“Yes, Ms. Caruso, I’m fine!” a slightly strained voice called back.

“Betta!” Amanda called over them, jumping up yet again and heading for the door. “We do not bite our guests!”

“You want me, you get the whole package,” Kate joked.

“I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Aaron said, coming just far enough into view that Captain could see him staring into her eyes. The scene was sickly sweet. Cod, had Captain and Eight been like that when they were younger?

Yes. Yes, they had been.

Then Captain’s thoughts were interrupted by a desperate cry of “FUFU!”

“Koko… woi’e bare?” Captain responded instinctively. Then they froze. Terrified, they shot a quick glance back at the other parents. None of them seemed to be staring at him—at least not directly—which he took as a good sign.

“What is it, Tsuku?” Captain said, hoping it would encourage her to respond in Inkling.

It worked, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway since Tsuku got close and whispered, “I forgot the gift for the Secret Snowsquid!”

The gift… had they left it at home? Wait. Captain felt his pocket and, sure enough, he felt a small box covered in wrapping paper. “Oh, I have it here! I grabbed it just in case.”

Captain held it it to her, and the distress was replaced by a huge grin of relief as she took it. “You had it the whole time? Why didn’t you tell me!”

Captain lifted their hands in a shrugging pose. “I forgot.”

They both giggled. “Thank you, Fufu!”

“Of course, Koko. Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah! I just beat everyone in Super Splat Squids!”

“I’m glad all the years of indoctrinating you into video games paid off.”

“Okay, I’m gonna go back now. Thank you!” She gave them a quick hug.

“Of course.”

And now everyone was staring at them.

“Aww, you have such a cute relationship with her!” Vanessa said.

“Oh. It’s uh… nothing special,” Three murmured.

Now Amanda returned from outside.

“I’m so sorry about that again, Alicia.”

“Oh, I’m sure Aaron will be fine. As long as Betta doesn’t have rabies!”

Everyone laughed except for Amanda, who gave a tight-lipped smile. Then she seemed to notice Lyle, Eli, Aubrey, Yuki, and the twins. “Oh! Please, come sit! Oh… oh dear, we really should have planned for this better… you know what, I’ll go get the lawn chairs!”

“No no, don’t bother! We’ll manage. I think Mako wants down, anyway,” Aubrey assured her.

Amanda looked frantically around her before finally managing to calm herself down. “Very well, then. And you must be…?”

“Aubrey. And this is my girlfriend Yuki.”

Yuki braced Seki against her chest with one arm and raised the other hand in greeting.

“Good to meet you! Good to meet you…” Amanda seemed on the verge of a panic attack.

Four and Yuki took up spots on the floor and let Mako and Seki start toddling around them. Meanwhile, Eli sat on the arm of the sofa right next to Captain, and Lyle gave everyone an almost defiant look before plopping down right on Eli’s lap.

“Wow Eli, thanks for the up-close view of your ass,” Captain murmured.

“No, thank you! That’s the first time you’ve ever complimented my ass before.”

Captain gave a clearly forced smile.

They got along fine with Eli nowadays, but they couldn’t completely ignore the small part of them that got nervous every time they were around Eli, or even Lyle. It just dug up too many old memories.

The group got to asking about the twins, and how one of the hardest times was right after they start walking because you have to chase them around everywhere, and Jeane said something about how lucky Aubrey and Yuki were to be young and agile. Aubrey seemed to relax more after that.

“You seem awfully quiet. Yuki, isn’t it?” Atlas said eventually, holding eye contact with the Octoling.

Noticing his stare, Yuki signed I’m deaf with one hand, sort of dismissively.

Aubrey nudged her and explained, “Yuki is deaf.”

“Oh, my sister is deaf, so I know some of the local sign! Um…” Robert then signed something Captain didn’t recognize, probably in Inkopolis Signed Vernacular.

“Um…” Aubrey began, also clearly not recognizing it.

Japen. Japen! Japenese Sign Language! Yuki signed to her fervently.

“Oh, we use… uh… Japenese Sign Language, since Yuki is originally from Japen. It’s… an obscure local dialect.”

Yuki signed something else Captain didn’t recognize, looking a bit less confident with the hand movements, and Yuki and Robert conversed for a few minutes.

About two hours had passed since the Meer-Hannons and Kekoa-Johnsons’ arrival when the doorbell rang again, and this time it really was just pizza. Everyone gathered around the kitchen counter, where Amanda was frantically trying to set out plates and plasticware. “Okay everyone, if you want a drink, write your name on your cup with this Sharkie, and be sure to put it back when—” But the rest of Amanda’s words were drowned out by the commotion.

Captain hung back a ways away from they’d had the the first chance crowd, figuring they’d let everything die down before going to get their food. Eight waited with them, and a moment later his hand slipped into their hand. “Doing okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah. I think so. I wasn’t expecting to see Lyle and all of them.”

“Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise! Is it okay that they’re here?”

“Of course! Of course it’s okay that they’re here. It’s nice to see everyone.”

Eight met Captain’s eyes, and he didn’t look away until he seemed satisfied with Captain’s reassurance. “You can always step away if you need to, I’ll cover for you.”

“Thanks.”

They shared a smile. “Pizza?”

“Sure.”

Everyone huddled in the kitchen, making use of any chair, barstool, or—in Mako, Seki, and Eli’s case—lap that they could find, while Captain and Eight leaned against the kitchen counter, putting as much distance between themselves and the commotion as they could. Captain nodded in Eli and Lyle’s direction and scoffed. “How are they so confident? Lyle didn’t figure out he’s gay until like five years after I did. And Eli took even longer!”

“Yeah, but it went over a lot better for them. They don’t have the same trauma. And besides, it’s Lyle and Eli. Did you really expect anything different?”

Eight reached an arm around them and gently pulled them in closer.

“Merry Squidmas, Capa.”

After a glance to make sure no one was watching them, Eight gave Captain a quick kiss.

“Merry Squidmas, Eight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was followed by Koi opening some presents from her family and sharing some hugs with her parents.

Finally, Amanda announced that it was time for the gift exchange. They all gathered in the living room again, with Tsuku, Koi, Betta, René, Cody, Ava, Kate, and Aaron sitting in a circle on the floor near the tree. Each held a gift wrapped in colorful paper, ranging in size from the wallet-sized rectangle Tsuku was holding to a box as tall as Betta. Captain found themself staring at each of the wrapped gifts, as if staring hard enough would allow them to bore through the wrappings and see their contents.

Who had drawn Tsuku’s name weeks ago? What would they have gotten her? What if something went wrong?

Captain somehow missed Amanda’s explanation of how the gift exchange would work and the first few gifts being given. He didn’t even notice what the gifts were, only that Betta was shouting in joy, and everyone was laughing, and everything had suddenly become very, very loud.

Captain made eye contact with Eight, who was already giving him a concerned look. Eight nodded, and Captain got up, trying not to seem too hurried as they made for the bathroom. They sunk to the floor and put their head between their knees, left by themself with their thoughts, and took several deep breaths to try to calm down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fourteen years ago

Ryland stared listlessly at nothing in particular as the students around him filtered into the classroom and found their seats. He didn’t even notice when someone sat just to his right.

“Hi, Ryland!”

Ryland snapped out of his daze. “Oh, Ophie. Hi.”

Ryland's and Ophelia’s fathers knew each other from work, and Ryland was pretty sure his father was trying to set him up with her, but she had always been nice to him.

She leaned toward him conspiratorially. “Who did you get for your Secret Snowsquid?”

“We’re not supposed to tell,” Ryland said.

Ophie giggled. “That’s the right answer!”

Ophie seemed to be waiting for a certain response, but Ryland had no idea what it could be, or what she had meant from her last exclamation. He just kind of smiled awkwardly at her.

Luckily, a few seconds later, the teacher saved him from having to respond. “Good morning, class. Does everyone have their gift?”

“Yes, Mrs. Ippy,” chorused about a quarter of the students. Most of the others did have gifts; they just weren’t paying attention. “We’re going to be gathering by grade, so everyone find the others in your grade and sit in a circle. First graders, up here by me…”

Ryland automatically tuned out the extraneous information, but by the time he tuned back in, it was too late, and everyone had already started moving. Ryland just followed Ophie back to the corner of the classroom near the door, where they sat on the carpet. About thirty of them gathered around in a circle, out of whom Ryland recognized Billy and his clan—Lyle,

Eli, Clyde, and Blitz. Ryland and Billy made eye contact, and the smirk on Billy’s face turned Ryland’s stomach.

Instead, he scanned the rest of the circle, trying to remember which one Cairo was—that was the name he had drawn a week ago.

“Okay everyone, put your gifts in the middle of the circle. The Class Leader will go first, and then go around the circle one at a time,” Mrs. Ippy called from somewhere far away.

Billy was up in an instant and making his way toward the growing pile of presents.

“Hey! It’s not your turn!” shouted one of the girls—Emily, he thought.

“Hmm, I’m sure the Class Leader doesn’t mind, right?” he glared at Blitz, who quickly shook his head. So Billy sauntered up to the pile and dug around for a while before finally pulling out a package. He tore it open and revealed a box of chocolates. Ryland thought he heard Ophie gasp next to him, but she didn’t say anything.

They continued around the circle, and eventually Ophie tore open her gift to reveal a pack of orange gummy candies. She frowned, probably because she didn’t like orange flavor. She looked at Ryland, and he just shrugged. “I’ll swap with you if I get something you like.”

“Oh. So… you didn’t get me?”

“No, I got Cairo. I don’t know who got you.”

Then Billy’s perpetually whiny voice interrupted them. “C’mon Ryland, that’s enough chit-chat! You’re holding up everyone else.”

Something felt wrong as Ryland got up and walked to the center of the circle. He squirmed as he felt everyone’s eyes on him. The whole room seemed more quiet than it should have been. It felt like it took an eternity to dig through the pile of presents in search of one with his own name.

And there it was: a small box about the size of a pack of playing cards. And for a minute he thought that might be what they were. He went back to his seat and sat down with it, hoping that that would reduce the number or eyes on him, but it was no use. Everyone was staring at him, as if expecting something to happen. Finally, Ryland realized he couldn’t stall any longer, and he slowly began to tear open the package.

But it wasn’t a pack of cards at all.

It was a pack of cigarettes.

It only took Ryland a few seconds before he understood what they meant. He started to shake, staring uncontrollably at the pack of cigarettes in his hand until it fell to the floor with a crash, spilling some of its contents.

Ryland could feel Billy’s triumphant glare on him, and he didn’t dare look up.

“Ryland! Are those cigarettes? Hand them over!” Mrs. Ippy was glaring down at him with her hand outstretched. Ryland shoved the cigarettes back in then grabbed the box and tentatively raised it toward her until she snatched it away. “And what were you doing with these?”

“They’re not mine! Obviously someone gave it to me as their Secret Snowsquid gift. I don’t want them!”

Mrs. Ippy just kept glaring down at him with a suspicious look on her face. Desperate, Ryland looked around and saw Billy staring directly at him with a malicious grin. And he gave Ryland a small nod, as if saying Go on. But Ryland didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, and even if he had there was no way he was letting Billy get away with this.

“Like I said, the person who brought them in the classroom was whoever got me for Secret Snowsquid! It was B—”

“Fine, then I’ll go check the lists,” Mrs. Ippy said, spinning on her heel and always making it halfway back across the classroom before Ryland could finish. Ryland looked to Ophie for comfort, but she looked just as nervous as he was.

A moment later, Mrs. Ippy was back, this time holding a clipboard. All she said was, “Ophie, I’ll be accompanying you to the principal’s office. You’re being expelled.”

Ryland was barely able to put any words together as he stared at Ophie. “No! No, it was… wait… Ophie? It wasn’t you, right?”

But Ophie was already standing. “It’s okay Ryland, don’t fight it or we’ll just both end up expelled.”

“Wait… Ophie…”

“I’m sorry, Ryland. I hope I see you again.”

But he never did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain groaned and slowly pulled his hand back from his head as the memory finished playing.

Of course, that night he had remembered Ophie’s gasp and had realized that the chocolates had been for him, which of course meant that Billy had swapped out the gifts—perhaps just the tags. But Ophie had already been expelled, and who would have believed him, anyway? Ophie had been right. Mrs. Ippy had already been suspicious enough of Ryland, and Billy hadn’t left any traceable evidence. Ryland probably would have been expelled, too, if he had tried anything.

But maybe that would have been for the best.

Captain pushed themself back up into an upright position and took a deep breath.

Tsuku’s gift exchange wouldn’t be like Ryland’s. She was surrounded by good friends and responsible adults. Tsuku may have a secret just like Ryland had, but maybe Captain could muster the optimism to believe that, unlike Ryland, Tsuku would be accepted.

Captain’s hand rested on the door handle. Yes. Everything would be okay. They truly believed it.

And they pushed the door open. A few strides, and they were back in the living room. It was still chaos, but the smiles on everyone’s faces reassured them. Especially Eight’s.

They sat down next to their husband, and Tsuku ran up to them almost immediately. “Look, Fufu! Look what Koi got me!”

Tsuku was bouncing around with such excited energy that Captain couldn’t discern the object in her hands until they reached out and held the corner to steady it. It was a sketchbook, and on the cover… a silhouette of an octopus.

“Oh… that’s great, Tsuku…” Captain tried to muster enthusiasm in their response, but they just couldn’t stop staring at the octopus emblazoned on the front.

“What is it?” Tsuku finally asked.

“Tsuku… does Koi know you’re an Octoling?”

Tsuku looked at him curiously, almost confused. “Yeah, of course! All of them do. They’ve known for a while.”

Captain looked around the room at everyone, beginning to question his original impressions of each of them. “And their parents…?”

Tsuku nodded. “As far as I can tell. It’s not really a big deal.”

Captain suddenly pulled in Tsuku for a tight hug, and they were holding back tears. “I’m so glad you found them. I’m… so happy for you, Koko.”

Tsuku started pulling back after a moment, and Captain realized that they might have hugged her for too long. But she still had a big smile on her face. “I love you, Fufu. Merry Squidmas!”

“I love you too. Merry Squidmas.”

They shared one more smile.

“Now go have fun with your friends!”

Captain watched them all for a few minutes, seeing René blush as Tsuku asked whether he liked the Tableturf cards she had gotten him, seeing KJ make a remark that they all laughed at, seeing Cody wow them by doing tricks with his new yo-yo, and seeing Tsuku wrap Koi up in another hug.

“You did this, you know,” Eight said, leaning into Captain. “I mean, Tsuku deserves some credit, and I guess I was there, too. But you made all this possible.”

Eight was right, wasn’t he? Nothing could ever be perfect and easy, but Tsuku was never going to have to endure the hardships that they had.

They had broken the cycle.

“Yeah. I did it.”

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